A call we hear a lot on Sunday mornings: the website won't load, email has been down since last night, and the provider answers with an automated ticket. When we ask about the last backup, the answer is usually "I don't know." Most of these stories began years earlier with one question at the time of purchase: how much does it cost?
Choosing hosting is a simple decision once you know what to ask. We start with the types of hosting, then go through the questions we ask ourselves before moving any client's site.
What types of hosting are there, and which suits your company?
| Type | How it works | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Shared hosting (cPanel) | Your account sits on a server shared by several customers, managed from cPanel. | Brochure site, blog, small store. |
| Reseller account | A WHM panel where you create a separate cPanel account for each site. | A company with several sites or branches, or an agency running sites for clients. |
| Virtual private server (VPS) | CPU, memory and storage reserved for you, with full access. | An internal system the team uses every day, or a high-traffic store. |
| Managed cloud | Infrastructure at a cloud provider that scales automatically, run by a technical team. | Platforms whose load changes a lot or that need high availability. |
If you have one website, good shared hosting is enough. If you have five sites on one account, a hack on one can reach the rest, and a reseller account helps because it isolates each site in its own account. A system your staff work on all day deserves a server it doesn't share with anyone.
What should you ask before you sign?
1. Where are backups kept, and how often are they taken?
Ask for three numbers: how often a backup is taken, how many days it is kept, and where. A backup stored on the same server goes down with it. Also ask how long a restore takes and who does it, since some providers charge for it.
2. What are the real resource limits?
"Unlimited space" hides other limits in the contract: the number of files (inodes), the share of CPU you are allowed, and the number of simultaneous processes. Those limits slow your site down at peak hours. Disk space rarely does.
3. Is email included, and will it reach your clients?
Email on the hosting server itself is cheaper, but it needs properly configured SPF, DKIM and DMARC records, or your quotes will end up in spam. We go through this in detail in why your company's emails go to spam.
4. Can you choose the PHP version for each site?
Modern sites need versions that still receive security updates. Make sure the panel has a tool like MultiPHP that lets you change the version for each site separately.
5. How does support respond, and in which language?
Test it before you buy. Send a real technical question and note when the reply comes and who writes it. Support that doesn't understand your problem doubles your hours of downtime.
6. Where is the server located?
For speed, the difference is small. Regulations matter more: if you store customer data in a regulated sector, you may be required to host inside the country.
7. How do you leave if you want to move?
Ask whether you can download a full copy of the site, database and email whenever you like. A provider that makes leaving hard will make plenty of other things hard too.
What is the minimum level of security?
An SSL certificate that renews by itself, with all traffic redirected to HTTPS. A firewall that blocks password guessing. Regular updates to the server and control panel. And accounts isolated from each other, so a hack on one site can't spread to its neighbor.
How do you move your site without downtime?
- InventorySites, their sizes, databases and mailboxes
- Lower TTLA day or two before the move so the switch takes effect quickly
- Move and testOn the new server before touching the domain
- Switch the domainAt a quiet time, while watching the site and email
- Close the old accountOnce you are sure everything works
The best-known mistake is cancelling the old hosting on the day of the switch. Wait at least a week, because some email takes a while to reach the new server until the DNS change has spread. We walk through the steps, including moving mailboxes, in moving your website and email to a new host.
Should the domain, hosting and email all come from one place?
It isn't required, and each option has a cost. With all three at one provider, you deal with one invoice and one support desk. With the domain at an independent registrar, you can change hosting later just by editing DNS records, without moving your name along with it.
Email is a separate decision too. Hosting email is enough for a small team sending ordinary business mail. A company that relies on shared calendars and documents and uses email on many devices may be better served by Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace, with the website staying on the hosting. In every case the rule holds that the accounts are in the company's name, and that applies to the domain first of all.
When should you move from shared hosting to a private server?
When slowdowns or resource limit messages keep coming back at peak times, or when a system your team uses all day runs on it. Before that, make sure the slowness comes from the hosting and not from a site weighed down by images and plugins, because an upgrade won't fix a site that is slow from the inside.
A private server also needs someone to update it, monitor it and back it up. If you don't have that person, choose a managed server. We compare the types and the signs it's time to move in shared hosting, VPS or cloud.
How do we choose for our clients?
First we take stock of what you have today: how many sites, how big each one is, and how many mailboxes. Then we choose between managed hosting, a reseller account and a dedicated server based on what you need now, with room to grow. And we give each client a single renewal date with a reminder before it, so no site goes down over an invoice nobody noticed.
If you'd like an opinion on your current hosting, send us your domain name through the contact page, or read about our hosting, server and email service.
Questions our partners ask
Is cheap hosting always bad?
No. A small brochure site usually does fine on budget shared hosting from a reliable provider. Problems start when the provider is chosen on price alone, without asking about backups, support and resource limits.
Do I need a server in my own country?
A server close to your audience improves speed a little. Your sector matters more: some regulators require data to stay inside the country, so ask about that before you choose.
How often should backups be taken?
Daily for websites and systems whose data changes every day, with copies kept for several days and at least one copy off the server itself.
What is the difference between cPanel and WHM?
cPanel is the panel for managing one website or one account: files, email and databases. WHM sits above it. You use it to create and manage several cPanel accounts, and it comes with reseller accounts and servers.
Written by the Visual Innovate team, the people who build, host and follow up systems, websites and apps for our clients in Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Oman and Egypt.
